Supermarket Skincare Lookalikes Can Save Consumers Hundreds. Yet, Do Budget Skincare Items Really Work?

Rachael Parnell

After discovering a consumer found out Aldi was launching a new skincare range that looked similar to products from high-end label Augustinus Bader, she was "super excited".

Rachael rushed to her nearest outlet to purchase the Lacura face cream for £8.49 for 50ml - a small portion of the £240 of the luxury brand 50ml item.

Its streamlined blue tube and gold top of the two creams look remarkably comparable. Although Rachael has never tried the high-end cream, she says she's pleased by the product so far.

She has been buying beauty alternatives from popular shops and supermarkets for some time, and she's not alone.

More than a quarter of UK consumers report they've tried a beauty or cosmetic dupe. This rises to nearly half among younger adults, based on a recent poll.

Alternatives are beauty items that copy well-known labels and provide affordable alternatives to high-end products. These products typically have similar names and packaging, but sometimes the formulas can differ significantly.

Victoria Woollaston

'High-Priced Is Not Always Superior'

Skincare professionals say certain substitutes to high-end brands are reasonable standard and help make skincare cheaper.

"I don't think higher-priced is always more effective," comments consultant dermatologist a doctor. "Not all affordable beauty label is bad - and not every premium skincare product is the best."

"Certain [dupes] are really impressive," says a podcast host, who presents a show with famous people.

Numerous of the products modeled on high-end labels "run out so fast, it's just crazy," he says.

Scott McGlynn

Medical expert Ross Perry thinks dupes are suitable to use for "fundamental products" like hydrators and cleansers.

"These products will be effective," he explains. "They will do the fundamentals to a acceptable degree."

A consultant dermatologist, suggests you can save money when you're looking for single-ingredient items like HA, niacinamide and a moisturizing ingredient.

"When you're purchasing a simple item then you're likely going to be fine in opting for a dupe or something which is quite affordable because there's minimal that can be problematic," she adds.

'Don't Be Swayed by the Box'

Yet the experts also suggest buyers do their research and say that higher-priced items are at times worthy of the premium price.

Regarding luxury beauty products, you're not just covering the label and marketing - often the elevated cost also stems from the components and their grade, the strength of the key component, the technology used to develop the product, and trials into the products' effectiveness, Dr Belmo says.

Facialist she suggests it's worth thinking about how certain alternatives can be offered so inexpensively.

In some cases, she believes they might have bulking agents that do not provide as significant advantages for the skin, or the components might not be as high-quality.

"One key question mark is 'How is it so inexpensive?'" she remarks.

Commentator Scott says sometimes he's bought skincare items that appear comparable to a well-known brand but the item has "no resemblance to the luxury product".

"Do not be fooled by the outer appearance," he warned.

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For potent items or ones with components that can aggravate the complexion if they're not created properly, such as retinols or vitamin C serums, Dr Bhate advises using research-backed companies.

She states these typically have been subjected to expensive tests to assess how successful they are.

Skincare items are required to be evaluated before they can be available in the UK, says skin doctor another professional.

If the label makes claims about the effectiveness of the item, it needs research to support it, "but the seller doesn't necessarily have to conduct the trials" and can instead reference evidence done by different firms, she adds.

Read the Label of the Bottle

Are there any components that could indicate a product is low-quality?

Ingredients on the label of the container are listed by quantity. "Ingredients to avoid that you want to look out for… is your petroleum-derived oil, your SLS, fragrance, benzel peroxide" being {high up